Conveyer, wrapping, and labeling machine



' 1927. May 24 P. D; PARSONS CONVEYER, WRAPPING, AND LABELING MACHINESheets-Shgt 1 1927. May 24 P. D. PARSONS CONYEYER, WRAPPING, IANDLABELING MACHINE Filed Deo. 2, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 mic-m Patented May24, 1927.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PHILIP D. PARSONS, OF SWARTI'IMORE, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO SCOTTPAPER COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

CONVEYER, WRAPPING, AND LABELING MACHINE.

Application led December 2, 1926. Serial No. 152,104.

My invention is directed to improvements for wrapping rolls of toiletpaper with an outside protecting wrapper and which may also contain the,label matter, whereby thc n wrapping and labeling may be done in anautomatic manner and with great rapidity, said improvements beingembodied in a machine. for conveying the rolls of toilet papel' from :iplace or places ot' reception to and over label or wrapper applying andpasting means such as set out in Letters Patent No. 1,570,918 and No.1,570,919 granted to me on January 26, 1926.

In my former patents above referred to, the conveying and labelingapparatus comprchended an endless conveyer chain structure havingthereon lateral projections or pins upon which the rolls of toilet paperwere placed and by means of which said rolls were conveyed to a pasteand label applying means and by reason of which the labels were causedto be wrapped about the rolls and securely fastened in an automaticmanner commensurate with the speed of the moving conveyer.

In the present invention, the same general character of conveyer andpaste applying means is employed, but instead of a label of relativelynarrow width, the wrapper employed in lieu of a separate label is madesulliciently wide to project beyond each end of the roll of toiletpaper, and during the conveyance of the wrapper so applied, theprojecting ends of the Wrapper are respectively gathered and tucked intothe tubular core in an automatic manner. Moreover, the conveyer is somodified that the pins which support the rolls of paper providesuiicient space between them and the conveyer chain proper to enable theWrapper to project over into the space between the roll of paper and thechain conveyer to which the pins are attached.

With the above and other objects in view, the nature of which Will bemore fully understood from the description hereinafter, the inventionconsists in the novel construction of conveyer, Wrapping and labelingmachine, as hereinafter more fully described and dened in the claims.

ReferringT to the drawings: Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a machineembodying my improvements; F ig. 2 is a plan view of the same with partin section; Figs. 3 to 7, inclusive, illustrate the means employed forgatherin in the overlapping Wrapper and tuckmg it Within the hollowspace provided by the core; and Fig. 8 is a horizontal sectional view ofa portion of the conveyor with its laterally extended pins.

2 are upright frames extending from the floor and are provided withlongitudinal guide bars 3 arranged in pairs and one above the other toform guideways 4. Endless conveyer chains 5 are guided in the guldeways4. The conve er 5 is of a link belt variety and is provi ed at definiteintervals along its length with laterally projecting pins 8, said pinshaving a collar 9 at a considerable distance from the'chain conveyer.These pins 8 are extensions of every alternate hinge pin 6 of theconveyer.

In practice, I prefer that the links of the conveyer which directlycarry the pins 6 and 8'shall be connected by intermediate hinge pms 1()for uniting adjacent link portions so that the conve er may be readily.guided over a sprocket W eel 16 by which it receives motion, saidsprocket wheel driven by an electric or other motor 14 through themedium of suitable gearing such as the Well known Worm and Worm Wheeltransmission gearing enclosed Within the casing 13. The conveyer 5 maybe made in any other convenient manner than that described and may bedriven in any other suitable manner.

The paper rolls P may be of any ordinary construction, being usuallyWound upon a soft cardboard core and having a diameter suitable forreceiving a dispensing holder. The apertures through the rolls areconsiderably larger than the diameter of the pins 8 of the conveyer, sothat When they are placed on the pins as they travel past the rollmaking machines (not shown), the operators place the rolls upon any unoccupied pins, no care in this respect being required.

After the roll of paper P has been placed upon the pins 8, said rollsare conveyed in contact with a vertical roller 11 carried upon a lever12 pivoted at one end and 0perating under a tension spring 7, so thatthe paper roll by contacting with the roller 11 is forced back againstthe collars 9 of the pins 8. The paper roll so positioned then passesover and in contact with paste applying disks 17 rotating in a glue pot17a, and thereafter said rolls are conveyed over the Wrapper magazine 18containing the wrapper and label sheets W and adapted to be raised by avertically adjusta le sup ort 19 having a downwardly directed sha t 20which is automatically raised by the lever 21 ulcrumed at 22 andcounterwe hted at 23, whereby there is a constant ten ency to `move thewrappers verticall against the under portions of the rolls in thecustody of the conveyer pins. As the rolls pass over the magazine', thepasted portions of said rolls pick up one end of the wrappers W wherebythey are automatically wrapped about`the rolls while the latter arebeing conveyed over and in contact with said wrappers and labels. As thewrappers or labels leave the magazine, their upper portions are drawnfrom under a paste applying belt 49 which is mechanically driventransversely to the direction of travel of the conveyer and rolls, andby reason of the application of which paste or glue the wrapper issecured in enveloping position about i the roll and with the tubularends of the wrapper projecting beyond-the roll, as indicated at E, E,which projecting ends are to be gathered and tucked into the tubularcores of the rolls. The particular details of the paste applying belt 49is not shown in the present application, as the same is fully describedand claimed in Letters Patent No.

1,570,919 aforesaid, and to which reference may be had for a moredetailed understanding of such paste applying means.

will now describe my improvements in respect to the means employed fortucking the ends of the' wrappers over the 1frolla and into the cores.24 is an endless sprocket chain having spaced. along its length aplurality of semi-circular buckets 25 whose radius of curvaturesubstantially corresponds to the radial distance from the center to theperimeter of the toilet paper roll when covered by the wrapper, and thisendless bucket conveyer is guided about a driving sprocket wheel 28 on adriving shaft 29 at one end, and at the other end about a sprocket wheel26, freely rotating upon a shaft 27 carried in upright bearings 2%.

Arranged parallel to the bucket conveyer 24 is a short endless transferbucket conveyer 33 guided about the sprocket pulley 28 at one end andabout a driving sprocket wheel 30 at the other end, said sprocket wheel30. being secured to and driven by a shaft 31 which, in turn, receivesits power from the main driving shaft 32 through spur gearing 34. Theshort bucket conveyer 33 is provided with buckets 33a which are similarto the buckets 25ct the bucket conveyer 24. As shown, these buckets aresemicylindrical having a curvature and radius which are adapted toreceive the rolls of toilet paper P when surrounded by theircombinedwrapper and label. As shown, the transfer bucket conveyer 33travels immediately under the pins '8 and at the same surface speed, sothat the rolls of toilet paper automatically pass into the buckets 33aduring their travel under the influence of the conveyer 5, and, at thesame time, the bucket conveyer 24 is also 'travelling at the samesurface speed so that the buckets 25 and 33 of the two conveyers movealong side by side 1n unison (F ig. 2). During the period of travel ofthe toilet paper roll in the combined custody of the buckets 33 and pins8, the said rolls are shifted lengthwise of the pins' 8 so as to passfrom the buckets 33a into position upon the buckets 25 of thn bucketconveyer 24. This is accomplished by means of the obliquely arrangedtransel sprocket chain'35 guided about horizona sai sprocket chainhaving downwardly projecting lugs 35EL which project just suiiciently tolbe able to catch the rim of the toilet paper roll to push it clear ofthe pin 8 and from one of the buckets 33t1 to one of the buckets 25, andb which latter it may then be conveyed in t e direction of the arrow,(Fig. 2), to the tucking mechanism T. The transfer chain 35 is driven bymeans of spiral gears 38 and a sprocket chain drive 39, whereby power isreceived from the main shaft 32. Any other suitable means for drivingthe transfer chain may be employed, and while -I prefer the transferchain mechanism, the paper rolls may be transferred from the pins 8 intothe buckets 25 in any other suitable manner.

Referring now to the mechanism for folding in the wrappers at each endof the roll and tucking the upper ends thereof into the hollow spacewithin the core of the roll, the

. same is indicated at T in Figs. 1 and 2, and

the operative mechanism.- therefor is also illustrated in Figs. 3 to 7,inclusive, and comprise the following instrumentalities The bucket'conveyer shaft 27 is loosely journaled in upright frame 2a and insidefrom carrying the sprocket Wheel 26 for the bucket conveyer 24, it alsocarries two disk-like frames 40 secured to the shaft and arrangedrespectively on opposite sides of the bucket conveyer. At` intervalsabout these disk-like: frames 40 are secured bushings 41 to which arehinged tucking arms 42, there being preferably six such tucking arms toeach bushing. The tucking arms 42 are'provided with specially shapedlongitudinal slots 43 which are engaged by pins 44 on a sliding head 45secured to the end of the reciprocating rod 46, said rod having lateralpins 47 moving in cam grooves 48 of the cam cylinders 50 which arefirmly secured to the frames 2a and about which the reciprocating rods46 are caused to travel by the rotation of the shaft 27 and disk-likeframes 40. The camv grooves 48 are so shaped that the rods 46 arereciprocated rotating sprocket wheels 36 and 37,'

during a semi-revolution thereof about theaxis of the shaft 27, with theresult that the pins 44 cause the tucking arms to be moved together' attheir free ends to gather 1n the tubular extending wrapper about theroll P proper. The operation just described will be clearly understoodfrom Figs. 3 to 7, inclusive, from which it will be seen that in Fig. 3,the arms are extended in a radial direction and are out of contact withthe tubular wrapper extension IV. As the bucket conveyer still furtheradvances, the cam groove 48 moves the sliding'head 45 slightly forward,with the result that the tucking arms 42 are caused to approach eachother somewhat and press upon the outside of the tubular wrapperextension lV, as will be understood by reference to Fig. 4. A furtheradvancement of the parts brings a still further movement to the slidinghead 45 and also a greater extent of collapsing of the tucking arms, asindicated in Fig. 5. As the parts still further advance in respect tothe stationary cani 50, the tucking arms become fully collapsed asindicated in Fig. 6, and finally the sliding head 45 is moved fullyforward, with the result that the tucking arms are slightly spread andthe plunger head 46a forces the gatheredgwrapped into the tubular core,as indicated in Fig. 7. It will be noted that the cam slots 43 in thetucking arms are such that said tucking arms are gradually closed forthe main movement of the plunger and sliding head 45 and thereafter,When the paper wrapped is gathered to a central position over theopening in the core, the tucking arms are forced slightly apartsufliciently to enable the tucking plunger to be driven forward.Thereafter, the parts return to the condition shown in Fig. 3.

During these operations, the wrapper of the toilet paper roll is more orless retained in the bucket 25 by reason of the fact that the tuckingarms are around the gathered paper and finally the plunger enters thehole in the core, but when. the said plunger is Withdrawn the wrappedtoilet paper roll is free to drop out of the bucket, as is indicated inthe left hand part of Fig. l.

I have described the tucking operation as applied to one end of theroll, butI it will be understood from Fig. 2 that a similar operationtakes place simultaneously at both ends of the roll. Figs. 3 tot",inclusive, are intended to illustrate the special features of thisoperation at one end of the roll, but it is to be understood that thesimilar operation simultaneously takes place at the othe 0 end of theroll. f

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that the toilet paperrolls P are received upon and conveyed by the main'conveyer 5 and causedto become wrapped with a Wrapper which may also be the label, and

thereafter, the roll together with the tubular I wrapper is suitablyconveyed or transferred to a second conveyer and while in the custodytherein have the tubular ends of the wrapper gathered and tucked intothe tubular ends ofthe core, and I do not restrict myself to theparticular means for transferring the rolls from the pins of the primaryconveyer into the buckets or holders of the secondary conveyer, nor do Irestrict myself to the particular means .shown for tucking in thetubular ends of the wrappers.

By printing the subject matter of the label upon the wrappers, it ismanifest that the label and wrapper is applied by the same operationand, therefore, reduces the cost, but it is to be understood that insuch cases as 'where the wrapper is of very thin materlal, andadditional label may be wrapped about the wrapper of the toilet paperroll and secured in place as heretofore.

It will now be apparent that I have de vised a novel and usefulconstruction which embodies the features of advantage enumerated asdesirable, and while I have in the present instance shown and describedthe preferred embodiment thereof which has been found in practice togive satisfactory and reiable results, it is to be understood that I donot restrict myself to the details, as the same are susceptible ofmodification in various particulars withoutn departing from the spiritor scope of the invention.

I-Iaving now described my invention, what I claim and desire to secureby Letters Patent s:

l. A machine of the character stated, comprising an endless conveyerhaving lateral pins at intervals along its length adapted for carryingin suspension rolls of paper to be enclosed with encircling wrapperswhich extend beyond each end of the rolls, combined with a magazine forcontaining the wrappers and having a width greatly wider than the lengthof the roll, means for feeding the wrappers toward the travelling pinswhich pass over the magazine, means for centralizing the rolls carriedby the pins when passing over the'magazine whereby the wrappers extend adefinite distance beyond each end of the roll, and paste applying meansfor cementing the wrapper about the roll while centralized therein.

2. The invention according to claim l, wherein further, means areprovided for automatically gathering in the extended ends of the wrapperon each end of the roll and tucking the same into the central aperturetherein.

3. The invention according to caim 1, wherein further, means areprovided for automatically gathering in the extended ends of the wrapperon each end of the roll and tucking the same into the central aperturetherein, said means comprising a secondary transferring means fordelivering the rolls with their` associated wrappers from the pins tothe-secondary conveyer device, means on opposite sides of the secondaryeonveyer device for gathering in the opposite ends of the Wrappers andtucking them into the apertures 1n the rolls and means for moving saidgathering and tucking means at a speed commensurate with the speed oftravel ot' the paper rolls and wrappers while in custody of thesecondary conveyer.

4. The invention according to clann l, wherein further, means areprovided t'or automatically' gathering,r in the extended ends ot thewrapper on each end of the rol'L and tucking the salue into the centralaperture therein, said means comprising a bucket conreyer for supportingthe paper rolls with the wrappers thereof extending on opposite sides, ashort transfer conveyor coupled to travel in synchronisin with the pinswhich carry the rolls of palper and also in synchronisni with the travelof the bucket conconveyer device,

l5 veyer, means for discharging the rolls from the pins and to thebucket conveyer while supported by the short transfer conveyer, J

and means arranged on opposite sides\of the bucket convcyer forgathering in the extended wrapper portions at each end of the paperrolls.

5. The invention according to claim 1, wherein further, means areprovided for automatically gathering in the extended ends of the wrapperon each end of the roll and tuckinfg the same into the central aperturetherein, said gathering and tucking means comprising a plurality ofpivoted arms and operating means to cause said arms to fold togetherwhen gatherin in the wrapper ends and also provided with areciprocating.;` plunger for forciblypushing the gathered wrapper endsinto the central aperture of the roll, and mechanical means for movingthe gathering and tucking means along with the travel of the paper rollsand for reciprocating the plunUer.

In testimony of which lnventioin hereunto set my hand.

PHILIP D. PARSONS.

